HOI4 Dev Diary - PdxCon Recap and Team update

  • We have updated our Community Code of Conduct. Please read through the new rules for the forum that are an integral part of Paradox Interactive’s User Agreement.
We are currently working on how motorization functions as part of it but it's roughly as presented before with a focus on connecting supply hubs using railways and convoys to project supply, with motorization improving the process.
Since we're talking about it, I figure it's worth trying to ask again: will trucks use fuel when delivering supply?

We have some cool team stuff happening, I will hand over the mic to @Arheo

image (33).png


Greetings all! Fresh from the Elysian fields, several of us previously from the Imperator: Rome team have swapped our gladii for KV-1s and have integrated with team HOI to create the ultimate combined arms, bear mounted (..thanks, Dan) division.

On a personal note, I’m thrilled to be joining HOI - it remains one of my all-time PDS favorites. The opportunity to give so much attention to such a short yet critical period of history is rarely afforded elsewhere. I have a great interest in the simulation of socio-political/economic causality behind the global narrative HOI provides, but find myself most at home micromanaging an ever-diminishing frontline in Russia… now with trains.

The ex-Imperator folks bring with them a wealth of knowledge which I’m certain can be put to good use here - we have spent a long time reacting, consulting, and working with our community to build a better game - something which I look forward to doing with the passionate fans of the HoI community as well.
Welcome @Arheo !
You will be sorely missed in the senate, but it's undoubtedly a great adding to the war room!
 
  • 7Like
Reactions:
Now as the supply system is fixed, maybe a more HOI 3 like research and espionage system.
I know that the research teams are better for small countries, but research should first of all cost ressources.
Same as espionage.
 
  • 4Like
  • 2
Reactions:
Yes, we will be reworking Italy in the future :)
Really had my hopes up for this DLC, and the stuff you're talking about with logistics is sounding brilliant. But gotta say this is disappointing. Italy has needed a rework for years now, and while the Baltic nation's tree's look cool. We really need a re-balance on the Majors. Considering most minor nations in Europe now have a more fleshed out flavor and better balancing/buffs. Splitting this work off seems more about parceling up content into DLCs that focus on one major at a time rather than the rework that's been sorely needed for so long. :confused:
 
  • 6
  • 5
  • 1Like
Reactions:
@podcat My question is, will it be possible to register unique 3d models of all types of trains for each country? Since in the United States and in the USSR and Germany, the trains were different in appearance, I want to make unique models of ordinary freight and military trains for each of the major countries)
 
  • 4Like
  • 1Love
Reactions:
I hope South East Asia (Siam, Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, maybe Indochina) get a country pack. Give Japan and the allies some interactions on how they can try to secure the area for resources too
 
  • 7Like
  • 2Love
  • 1
Reactions:
Very Nice. Especially the Team Upgrade is a big Step forward.

Yes, Hoi 4 is like Stellaris 5 Years old, but that’s no Reason to cancel work on the Games.

Especially Hoi 4 have so much Potential left for 8 to 10 more Years official Support and about 30 or 40 for Modding.

The same Effect is see able on Panzer Corps 1, esp. with Modding.

an other Example is XCOM2 / XCOM 2 WotC.

The longest Games with Modding Support are the with Development 20 Years old UFO ET (13 Years on Market inc. Gold-Version) and the Originals of Strategy Games X-COM over 30 Years now.

Yes this Games are old, but get played more often now than on the Time they come out.
 
  • 4Like
  • 1
  • 1
Reactions:
It's worth pointing out they were talking about "mechanics IN DLC", they didn't mention mechanics in patches. One issue EU4 & CK2 had was that when mechanics get introduced in DLC it's a lot harder to allocate time to go back and fix them. It's why for Stellaris & EU4 they ended up pulling DLC features into the main game.

Hopefully Podcat just means the DLC will be country packs mainly & all engine / mechanics changes come in patches.

But maybe I'm being optimistic.

(He mentioned peace conferences & air rework - no realistic way can they be DLC locked.)

At some point, DLC stuff should be integrated into the game.
The added baggage each DLC to restrict 'pay stuff' to those that pay slows down the game and adds bugs.
The game already has issues with DLC's not fitting or working together well, and each DLC you pile on top just makes it more of a problem.

You make a DLC that is interesting, bug free, and adds new 'toys' and I'll still buy it today even if I know in 5 years it will be integrated for free.
 
  • 3Like
Reactions:
Finally Partisans!!! Hope Yugoslavia would have special operation to utilize this new mechanic.
Just to be clear. Partisans as represented in the resistance system we did with lar. its not something new. But we needed those changes to properly handle occupation effects and such


It's worth pointing out they were talking about "mechanics IN DLC", they didn't mention mechanics in patches. One issue EU4 & CK2 had was that when mechanics get introduced in DLC it's a lot harder to allocate time to go back and fix them. It's why for Stellaris & EU4 they ended up pulling DLC features into the main game.

Hopefully Podcat just means the DLC will be country packs mainly & all engine / mechanics changes come in patches.

But maybe I'm being optimistic.

(He mentioned peace conferences & air rework - no realistic way can they be DLC locked.)
Yeah you understood me correctly. Long term we wanna move away from more paid large mechanics because its getting more and more fragile as we grow

will you guys be working on fixing existing bugs in the game in the near or far future? stuff like Transylvania, Austria-Hungary, Bessarabia, china, and even spain are still bugged. would love to see quality of life improvements in the future. I can provide a list of bugs i have found if you'd like.
We have a bugfix patch happening around anniversary so stay tuned

@podcat My question is, will it be possible to register unique 3d models of all types of trains for each country? Since in the United States and in the USSR and Germany, the trains were different in appearance, I want to make unique models of ordinary freight and military trains for each of the major countries)
we got different train models coming. future diary :)
 
  • 41Like
  • 15
  • 2Love
  • 1
Reactions:
We need Finland now, it's a good day to make a change of plans.
 
  • 7
  • 4
  • 2Like
Reactions:
Will battle trains be in stockpile o nations that had them (poland had about two active in WW2 but I'm probably wrong in numbers)?

Poland liked trains (during the Polish-Bolshevik war, Poland used 26), so it had quite a lot of them.

Well, it is said that their capabilities surprised both Germans and Poles.
In 1939, 16 trains (of which 5 were improvised) took part on the Polish side. There were even armored train squadrons, 3-5 trains per squadron.

The Battle of Mokra (won by the Poles) is a great example of the effectiveness of the armored train that stopped the German armored strike. After all, the immobilization of the 4th Panzer Division for a few days was largely due to him.
 
  • 2Like
  • 1
Reactions:
Will you add more tiles to eastern states of USSR, like Siberia? Fighting there feels extremely wonky with some zones being bigger than small countries. It's not as bad as northern part of South America but still annoying.
 
Last edited:
  • 8Like
  • 1
  • 1
Reactions:
Yeah you understood me correctly. Long term we wanna move away from more paid large mechanics because its getting more and more fragile as we grow
Some mechanics (diplomacy, internal politics, economy) are quite lacking and I would hope that you would give those another look in the far future.
 
  • 1Like
Reactions:
I think it would be more immersive if the player had to chose and select every single departure and arrival time for every single train during the entire second world war
oh boi, if only you would know the irl chaos regarding that
 
  • 2Haha
Reactions:
Looks great so far.

Will there be a better way to calculate the needed supplies for a region?

Because today it's a lot of guessing what will be needed for an army or some divisions.
I know you can see needed supplies for each division, but not for an army or army group. And you have to drill into the division details for each division.
And of course there are modifiers like the activity in that region, like fighting is +50% supplies.

I wish we had at least something like a simple sum of needed supplies for a whole army standing (and possibly also moving/fighting) in the army overview window, or as tooltip in the bottom bar.
I tried to mod this, but the mod api unfortunately is not sufficient for this.

It's hard to sufficiently plan supplies right now, often resulting in rough calculations and then iterations with either removing or reinforcing regions after seeing the current supply situation on the supply map.
 
  • 4Like
Reactions:
Every time a new DLC is announced I think "finally! this would be the perfect opportunity to fix the peace conference system!". However, now I take it that there's no plans to include a revamp in this upcoming patch+dlc. This has been my #1 hope since release, but I guess I'm alone on this or maybe just way more people are playing big multiplayer games. But for me, no matter how much fun I have in a game, the peace conferences always manage to ruin it for me so much that I quit. I really hope ya'll at least provide some mechanism to allow the player to refuse to give up occupied territory in a peace conference, in the absence of a fix to the conferences themselves.
 
  • 4Like
Reactions:
While the main focus is the Eastern Front, how will the new supply system affect other fronts, like the Sino-Japanese War and the North African campaign? Right now, I feel like Japan pushes deep into China and beats it a little too "easily" and the British usually roll over Lybia like it is nothing (sometimes it's Italy that takes the Suez pretty easily, as well as take Central Africa through Ethiopia).

Will the new supply system make these fronts more like stalemates like they were in real-life?
 
  • 5
Reactions:
@podcat As for future Country Packs, I would like to nominate Southeast Asia as well, besides Scandinavia, Middle East, and South America Packs.

Can you build as many railroad cannons as possible? I presume it would consume a lot of resources when building even just one.

THAT TEASE FOR THE SOVIET TREE THO. Far Left and Center are reverse :D Can't wait to see how the Great Purge is reworked.
 
  • 1
  • 1Love
  • 1Like
Reactions: